Since 1998, Pyongyang's foremost policy has been declared as "military-first." Military leaders in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are very powerful and influential figures. Who are they? What kind of power and influence do these leaders wield, and how do they exert it? How do KPA leaders interact with dictator Kim Jong Il and their civilian counterparts?

The author describes the "String of Pearls" as the manifestation of China's rising geopolitical influence through efforts to increase access to ports and airfields, develop special diplomatic relationships, and modernize military forces that extend from the South China Sea through the Strait of Malacca, across the Indian Ocean, and on to the Arabian Gulf. The monograph examines the "String of Pearls" as an evolving maritime component of China's national strategy, implications for the U.S.-China relationship, and broader U.S. policy implications for the entire region.

In today’s dynamic strategic environment, political changes can become challenges very quickly. Any list of key strategic issues must, therefore, include the broadest array of regional and functional concerns. This is a catalogue of significant issues, arranged as potential research topics, of concern to U.S. policymakers. As such, the KSIL is a ready source of topics that members of the defense community and academia can use to focus their research efforts.

North Korea is both a paradox and an enigma because on one hand, it appears to be a very powerful state—possessing the world's fourth largest armed forces, a sizeable arsenal of ballistic missiles, and a worrying nuclear program—but on the other, it is an economic basket case in terms of agricultural output, industrial production, and foreign trade exports.